The AntiHero series continues with the mellifluous Hannibal, brilliantly portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen. Like many, when I heard about this series, my skepticism ran deep… that was, until I saw the acting by Mads and Hugh Dancy… all brought together beautifully by Bryan Fuller.

Dark, intelligent, haunting… the series guided my brush, resulting in a rich, fiery palette.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x24lwpq_mads-mikkelsen-hannibal-portrait-by-borbay_creation

Here is the entire process in one minute, soundtrack courtesy of the Ambershift — check them out!

If you thought picking a dress for the prom was important… imagine choosing the appropriate collage materials for a sophisticated cannibal.

All of these headlines were chosen for a reason.

Getting the collage materials trimmed and pasted down requires time and patience, but I find the process cathartic.

Love me a warm underpainting.

NBC’s Hannibal account Retweeted this process image, resulting in quite a few hits, which was nice.

Mysterious. As someone who once had sharp cheekbones (college), I can appreciate the importance of capturing angularity.

Dark… the colors required punch, but here, I wanted to explore the image and make some decisions.

The background was critical to the composition… I knew it was going to be a muted blue, which would activate the face… I also realized a brighter palette was required.

Getting there… the hair highlights were too bright… it is Hollywood, but this was a bit much, so I took it back a notch.

The pure red in the midtones brought everything together… I’m drawn to cadmium with such a subject.

Mads! I deeply enjoyed watching the entire series and revisiting the movies while creating this piece. Thank you Michelle for the commission and spectacular write-up, I hope you love living with your new painting.